A survey of individuals who have not yet written their will were asked why they had not done so. Their response: 57% said they just have not gotten around to making one. Procrastination is all well and good, but when it comes to something as important as estate planning, no age is too young to start thinking about what will happen to your money and possessions when you are gone. When going through the process, estate planning lawyers can help make everything much less time consuming than you would expect. But why is estate planning so important anyway? Well, there are many reasons people go through the estate planning process. Here are just of few.
- Avoiding Probate Fees
If you do not go through estate planning lawyers to create a set estate plan, your assets will need to be distributed according to your will, if you left one. The problem with this is that the court needs to validate the authenticity of your will, and execute it at great expense to your estate. If you did not leave a will, the state will allocate funds how it sees fit, again at the expense of your estate. - Preventing Family Fights
Proper estate planning will designate where and to whom everything is going. Although it does not happen all the time, families have fought over what they are supposed to inherit in your absence. Planning your estate effectively neutralizes this possibility. - Protecting Against Financial Irresponsibility
In the event that you are a parent to young children who have yet to fully grasp what money and property mean, it is smart to consider setting restrictions and guideline for how your beneficiaries are to spend their inheritance. This can help prevent inexperienced individuals from squandering everything you built for them.
Thinking about what will happen after you pass away is not fun, but it is important to be proactive about the future of your family. Knowing that when you are gone your family will be well provided for in the exact way you intended can give you the peace of mind to continue on living a happy and stress-free life.